I came into college as an undeclared student, and as I near the end of my second year, one thing hasn’t changed – I’m still undeclared.
Throughout my first year, I was continually reassured by both my peers and counselors that I still had time to choose a major and should just enjoy my classes for what they were.
While this live-in-the-moment mindset works when students first enter college, as they progress, it has the added effect of extending the length and cost of an already-taxing university education.
The split between the unstructured nature of the advice given to undeclared students and the reality of being an undergraduate on a deadline highlights the need for UCLA to implement more in-depth counseling services specifically geared toward undeclared students.
General academic counseling is helpful with specific questions to clarify academic issues and departmental counselors can assist students already in dedicated majors, but these appointments can prove to be anything but useful if you don’t even know where to start asking questions.
These services proved to be unhelpful to me when I was confused about how to start narrowing down the more than 125 majors that UCLA has to offer to just one or two.
Currently I find myself at least one class, if not several classes, short of being able to declare a major, which is particularly concerning as UCLA policy requires all students declare their major by the time they reach junior standing.
Undeclared students would benefit from occasional but mandatory meetings with counselors, like those required if you’re behind in units when your Expected Cumulative Progress is checked.
These mandatory check-ins would allow counselors to remind undeclared students to be continuously looking into majors and pre-requirements, reminding students of the deadlines to declare by in order to still graduate in four years. Meeting with counselors to ensure students stay on track could prevent students’ needing to take out more unnecessary loans to cover the cost of spending extra time in school.
Of course, while this additional counseling would certainly help, it shouldn’t just be a one-way street.
Undeclared students have the responsibility to focus on their interests that could potentially lead to a major when picking classes. It is also their responsibility to be aware of the deadlines that all UCLA students must follow.
However, academic counseling geared toward undeclared students would serve to provide a much-needed push in the right direction. Yes, many undergraduate students probably feel that they could use more academic assistance, but undeclared students need counselors with a wider understanding of the majors offered and the path toward entering them.
Once you’ve declared a major, it’s easier to create a plan of the classes needed to graduate. Often, the department provides a recommended list of what classes to take each quarter in order to successfully complete a given degree. But, as an undeclared student you’re left to find your own classes, without any recommendations or pointers to guide the way.
Having dedicated counselors for undeclared students would also streamline the academic counseling process for other students. Undeclared students would no longer need to hold up the lines for undergraduate counseling when others have quick questions about general education courses or graduation requirements.
As I pile on the classes and the stress to make sure I make deadlines on time and stick to just four years as an undergraduate student, I wish I had been given some direct advice earlier in my academic career, rather than a list of “should haves” right before my final deadline.